Lifetime Achievement Recipients

The Hall of Fame

BRIAN EATON – MANAGING PARTNER OF RSM BETTY & DICKSON (JOHANNESBURG)

Brian Eaton is the Managing Partner of RSM Betty & Dickson (Johannesburg), a position that he has held since 2001. His professional career began at the firm in 1973 and he has dedicated the last 41 years to building the firm and constantly finding new ways to improve the service offerings.

It is through Brian’s leadership that RSM Betty & Dickson has grown from small beginnings to a medium sized firm and has become a significant player in the professional services arena. In 2001, Brian took the decision to join the firm with the RSM International network – the 7th largest network of independent audit, tax and advisory firms in the world.

Brian spent four years as Chairman of the Board of RSM International. This is a tremendous achievement, especially considering that there are over 700 Managing Partners in the RSM network.

TRUEMAN GOBA – CHAIRMAN OF HATCH GOBA

Mr. Trueman Goba is the founder of Goba (Pty) Ltd, consulting engineers and project managers. From humble beginnings the company grew to a complement of over 500 professionals nationwide. In 2013, Goba took the decision to merge with international engineering giant Hatch with Trueman becoming executive chairman of the combined entity. Trueman has served as the president of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering in 2002 and as president of the Engineering Council of South Africa between 2007 and 2009.

NONKULULEKO GOBODO – FIRST FEMALE BLACK CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT

Nonkululeko Gobodo is SA’s first black female chartered accountant. She had a vision when she was young of one day helping change the economic landscape of South Africa and refused to be part of an international network choosing instead to establish her own homegrown brand. In 1996 she founded Gobodo Incorporated which served as an audit practice working with parastatals and government departments. In 2011 SizweNtsaluba VSP and Gobodo Incorporated merged to form the largest black-owned and managed accounting firm and the fifth largest accounting firm in South Africa. She is Chairman of the combined entity and is a recipient of several awards including a Top Business Woman Award in 2014.

RODNEY GROSSKOPFF – CHAIRMAN OF GLH ARCHITECTS

Rodney Grosskopff is the Chairman and a Partner of Grosskopff, Lombart, Huyberechts and Associates based in Johannesburg. Rodney has designed and been associated with some of the firm’s most notable buildings over the last half-century. His architectural philosophy has been To Add Value, which remains the company’s credo to this day. Conversion of old produce market into the Market Theatre. He is a published author whose books included ‘Carved in Stone’ and is a recipient of the A S Furner Prize for Architecture.

SBU GULE – CHAIRMAN OF NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT

Sibusiso ‘Sbu’ Gule has been involved in Labour and Employment Law for more than 20 years and has written articles on the subject published in reputable local and international print media and law journals. In 2013 Norton Rose merged with US law firm, Fulbright & Jaworski, to make Norton Rose Fulbright. The merged operation would boast a base of about 4000 lawyers spread across 55 office across the globe and leaped into the list of top 10 global legal firms. In 2014, Sbu Gule was appointed Global Chairman of this international organisation in addition to serving as Chairman of Norton Rose Fulbright in South Africa.

LOUIS KAROL – FOUNDER, LOUIS KAROL ARCHITECTS

Louis Karol arrived in South Africa in the 1930’s on an immigrant ship from Lithuania. He worked at his parents boarding house while studying architecture at UCT. He started his practice while still in University which has gone on to design a number of award-winning South African and international buildings. He has served as an examiner for Wits University and chair of Architecture SA and has won a number of architecture awards including the Architecture SA Project Award for the Waterfront.

ATTIE PRETORIUS, CHAIRMAN OF CLIFFE DEKKER HOFMEYR

Attie Pretorius is the chairman of Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr having joined as a director in 1984. He is an expert in property law and has advised several large corporations including all the major banks. He authored the South African chapter for the International Comparative Legal Guide to Real Estate Law and advised on Waterfall City, which at R11 billion is the largest property development in South African history. Best Lawyers International 2013 named Attie “Lawyer of the Year” in Johannesburg Real Estate.

ROBERT LEGH – CHAIRMAN OF BOWMAN GILFILLAN

Robert Legh is the chairman of Bowman Gilfillan with 25 years extensive experience in corporate finance, antitrust and regulatory work. Robert founded the competition law group in 1998. He has worked on a number of high profile cases over the years in relation to hostile mergers, abuse of dominance and cartel cases. He was a contributor to the first South African text book in the area.
Robert Legh is ranked as a leading South African competition lawyer several rating publications including Chambers and Partners Global Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers, Global Competition Review, Who’s Who Legal Competition and The Legal 500.

STANFORD MKHACANE – PRESIDENT OF SAICE

Stanford Mkhacane is the current president and fellow of the SA Institution of Civil Engineering. He is a former Chairman of Consulting Engineers of South Africa and managing director of Nyeleti Consulting (Pty) Ltd. He has 39 years experience in civil, roads and transportation engineering, with specific reference to the design, construction, and management of rural roads and civil engineering services. He has also been involved in research on transportation, and has published about 10 national and international papers. He has been involved involved in the accreditation of Civil Engineering programmes at the Edwardo Mondlane University in Mozambique, UKZN and Wits University.

SURESH KANA, CHAIRMAN OF IMPERIAL HOLDINGS

Suresh Kana was the Chief Executive Officer of PWC Southern Africa and also acted as the Africa Region Senior Partner until June 2016. Prior to assuming this position on 1 June 2009, Suresh held the position as the PwC Southern Africa Assurance leader. During this time he lead the largest service line within PwC Southern Africa, and deepened his relationships with large and small corporates, top 40 listed companies, government departments and regulators. He has vast experience in writing and commenting on matters that affect the auditing and accounting profession and serves on a number of key industry bodies. He served on the PwC Global Board and its Strategy Council. He is the Chairman of the Financial Standards Reporting Council of South Africa, and a member of the King Committee on Governance. He is a non-executive director of Murray & Roberts Limited and the JSE Limited, and is a Professor of Accounting at the University of Johannesburg. Suresh was appointed as a non-executive director to the board of Imperial Holdings on 1 September 2015 and appointed as independent non-executive chairman of the board on 3 November 2015.

TREVOR BROWN – CHAIRMAN OF DELOITTE AFRICA

Trevor joined Deloitte in 1979 and was admitted to the partnership in 1988. He was appointed Partner-in-Charge of the Johannesburg Audit office in 1997 and was appointed to the firm’s Executive Committee (Exco) in 1998 as the Service Line Leader of Audit. During 2005, he was appointed as the Clients & Markets leader of the Southern African firm and continued to serve on Exco. In 2011, Trevor resigned from Exco and was elected to the Southern Africa Board on 1 September 2011 as the Johannesburg representative. He was then elected by the Board as its Chairman and was re-elected to this role in August 2014.

He has been actively involved as Advisory Partner to many of the firm’s audit clients and is currently the Relationship Partner to The Bidvest Group.

Trevor says he believes in a culture that displays a “tone at the top” which is above reproach, and which drives a robust and effective governance process.

FOUNDER OF MASHABANE ROSE ARCHITECTS

Phill completed his studies in Paris where he obtained his degree in Architecture, and three years later enrolled and completed his LLB in the same city. In 1995, he registered Mashabane Rose architects together with Jeremy Rose. In 2012, he completed his studies in Alternative Dispute Resolution with the University of Pretoria and he also boasts a Master of Science degree in Knowledge and Project Management through the University of Salford. Phill has been an external examiner at several tertiary institutions in South Africa and on the African continent covering areas of Professional Practice. With over thirty years in the industry and many awards under his belt.
He has contributed to a broad variety of prestigious projects including the Apartheid Museum, and most recently the sculpture of Nelson Mandela in Howick. Amongst other competencies, Phill is an accredited Mediator, also a skilled Facilitator, Negotiator and a Commercial and Construction Arbitrator.

HASHIM BHAM (Left), FOUNDER OF BTKM QUANTITY SURVEYORS

Hashim Bham started working in his father’s hardware shop where he got inspiration to work in the Built Environment. Of the options available, quantity surveying sounded most interesting to him. Being of Indian descent, it was difficult to obtain a permit from the apartheid government to study this discipline at Wits instead of at Durban Westville University. However, Hashim obtained the permit after a three month wait and after graduating he decided to pursue a post-graduate qualification in town planning at the University of Natal.

He served an internship at a quantity surveying firm in Johannesburg before teaming up with Imtiaz Tayob to start their own firm in 1984. It was a difficult start given that most government and private work was preserved for their white competitors. Tayob moved to Durban in 1986 and the firm was later joined by Thembi Matunda based in Port Elizabeth and Nazeem Khan based in Cape Town.
Today the firm Hashim co-founded BTKM is a fully-fledged national practice with offices in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, King Williams Town, Umtata, Pretoria and Polokwane.

LAVERY MODISE – Chairman of Hogan Lovells

In addition to his duties as Chairman of Hogan Lovells in South Africa, Lavery Modise focuses on all aspects of employment and labour law and represents clients in all courts up to the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court.
He has been called upon to act as a judge of the Labour Court from time to time. In addition, he acts as arbitrator and mediator in labour related matters for corporate and government institutions.
Lavery has advised a number of prominent companies and boards as well as state-owned entities. In addition, he has chaired various disciplinary inquiries relating to misconduct committed by senior management executives at entities such as various government departments. Lavery has received Best Lawyers of South Africa awards for Labour and Employment, and has been recommended in Legal 500 as a “seasoned professional with extensive court experience”. He had a monthly employment law column in the Sowetan for eight years and has been featured in Financial Mail’s Little Black Book since 2005

PROFESSOR MICHAEL KATZ – CHAIRMAN OF ENSAfrica

Professor Michael Katz is chairman of ENSafrica specialising in corporate and commercial law, including advising on several areas including mergers and acquisitions. Michael is regularly quoted in the media and speaks at a number of international and domestic conferences and high profile events. Michael publishes numerous articles, chapters and papers on legal and fiscal topics. He has held the position of chair at several significant private and public levels and he is recognised as a professor at various institutions including Wits, Tuks, Free State University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His accolades include recognition at the Dealmakers Awards, The International Who’s Who of Merger and Acquisition Lawyers and the ACQ Global Awards.

AZAR JAMMINE, CHIEF ECONOMIST OF ECONOMETRIX

Dr Azar Jammine is Director and Chief Economist of Econometrix. He has been in his current position since December 1985 and has established a significant profile in South Africa as an analyst and commentator on domestic and international economic affairs. Dr Jammine has conducted approximately 4000 presentations to leading client corporations and other institutions as well as at conferences dealing with the local and international economic environment. In this capacity he has been invited over the years by several corporations to serve as independent non-executive director.

Dr Jammine is a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation, a body of experts appointed by the Department of Science and Technology. Academically, Dr Jammine obtained a BSc (Hons) in Mathematical Statistics and a BA (Hons) in Economics at Wits, followed by an M.Sc in Economics from the LSE and a PhD at the London Business School.

DR SNOWY KHOZA, EXECUTIVE CHAIRPERSON OF BIGEN GROUP

Dr Khoza is the Executive Chairperson of Bigen Group and currently sits on the Advisory Boards of the University of Pretoria – Water Institute; SekelaXabiso Audit firm, chairing its Audit and Risk committee and is an Independent Non-Executive Director of ANSYS chairing its Social & Ethics committee (IT Company in rail, telecoms and defense systems). She also chairs the boards of SNOKHO Investments (Pty) Ltd, and Ka-Manowi Manor (Pty) Ltd. Dr Khoza is the President of a not-for-profit Organisation – Agape Christian Women’s Network (ACWN International). She was previously the founding chair of Knowledge Management Africa. She chaired the multi-billion Rand Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) and the Water Research Commission (WRC) as the first woman to fill these positions. She was also a member of the National housing Financing Corporation (NHFC) Board and its Audit Committee and Chair of the Risk Committee. In addition, Dr Khoza chaired the Arts, Culture, Environment and National Heritage Distributing Agency of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC). Her other former chairmanships included the centre for Social Development in South Africa at the University of Johannesburg; Family and Marriage Society of South Africa; Bihati Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Khayalabo Investments (Pty) Ltd and Women’s Development Business Trust. Her previous Directorships included Statistics South Africa and Freights Dynamics (Transnet). She has also served on the ministerial advisory panels for the then Ministry of Water and Forestry and Housing.

PROF. EDWARD KIESWETTER, FORMER CEO OF ALEXANDER FORBES

Edward recently retired from Alexander Forbes, as Group Chief Executive from 2010 – 2016. Under Edward’s leadership the company restored its institutional integrity and financial performance, rebuilding a reputation and ethos of trustworthiness. He resolved longstanding civil and criminal and tax disputes by proposing a path of “doing the right thing”. He made a commitment to zero retrenchment and honored it throughout his tenure. His contribution led to relisting on the JSE in 2014, attracting significant local and international investors, whilst serving the interest of all
stakeholders.
In previous roles as the Deputy Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service and Senior Executive at Eskom, Edward has led groundbreaking change management Programmes with pioneering and world-class results. Throughout this, his focus and investment in people was a hallmark of his work. His contribution at Eskom resulted in him being recognized as South Africa’s Boss of the Year 199/200, and a Leadership Thinker in 2006.

NICO VAN DER MEULEN

Nico van der Meulen is the founding member and CEO of Nico van der Meulen Architects. The firm has designed more than 4000 buildings during the past 40 years, many of which have received international acclaim and some as far afield as the USA, London, Cypress, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Russia and many African countries. The firm is known for designing some of South Africa’s most beautiful homes. Having studied civil engineering, Nico was involved in construction for many years before starting to design full time and registering as an architect and as such, Nico has been involved in the building industry for 40 years. In addition, he has also refined his long time interest in eco-sensitive, sustainable African architecture which he actively promotes. He was involved, as lead architect, with the creation of estate rules in 5 developments involving nearly 4000 houses with several of these developments being in eco-sensitive areas.

PETER DAY – DIRECTOR OF JONES & WAGENER

Peter Day is a consulting geotechnical engineer and chairman of Jones & Wagener, Engineering and Environmental Consultants. In his 34 years with the company, he has been exposed to many aspects of geotechnical engineering, mainly in the context of heavy industrial and mining projects. He has also been intimately involved with the Geotechnical Division of SAICE and the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, having been the ISSMGE Vice President for Africa from 2001 to 2004. In recognition of his contribution to the profession, Peter was awarded the South African Geotechnical Medal by the Geotechnical Division in 2005 and was elected as an Honorary Fellow of SAICE in 2010. In March 2013, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Engineering by the University of Stellenbosch.

PHILIP HOURQUEBIE – FORMER CEO OF EY

Philip is an accomplished, commercially focused & widely respected Senior Executive with extensive leadership credentials as evidenced through a progressive and accelerated career trajectory operating as a Managing Partner leading EY’s regional business organisation across South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa and latterly Central and South Eastern Europe. He has been a member of the EY Global Practice Group and EMEIA Operating Committee. He is a highly credible and dynamic leader of multi-organisation, multi-disciplinary, and multi-country teams and people; significantly experienced in the Professional Services arena, equipped with a track record of success developing and mentoring leadership teams and individuals; and adept in implementing the necessary cost control and revenue growth strategies to drive and execute consistent and sustainable business transformation success. He is currently a non-executive director of Investec Plc, Investec Limited, Investec Property Fund and the Aveng Group.

PIERRE LOMBART – CO-FOUNDER OF GLH ARCHITECTS

Born in Brussels, Pierre moved to South Africa after completing his studies. He co-founded GLH Architects with whom he has been for 31 years as a Senior Partner and is now Honorary Chairman. He continues to participate in the conceptual brainstorming of most projects while taking care of the existing professional relationships he created with major corporate clients. GLH Architects has been involved in major corporate and residential projects in the main hubs of Johannesburg including the design of head offices for 3 of the 4 major banks. Pierre is active in the property industry and his passion for the arts led him to initiate the creation of a non-profit company christened The Southern African Foundation For Contemporary Art (SAFFCA) which aims to promote the work of the artists of Southern Africa and link them with the global stage.

PINE PIENAAR – CO-FOUNDER OF NYELETI ENGINEERING

Dr. Pienaar completed his degree in civil engineering in 1981 followed thereafter by an honours degree in structural engineering, both at the University of Pretoria. In 1987, he obtained his Masters degree in the design of low volume roads and followed that up with a PhD on the topic of the management of tertiary road networks in rural areas in 1993. He worked for various organisations during his professional career including Basil Read, Van Wyk & Louw and GIBB Africa. In 1999, together with Stanford Mkhacane he co-founded Nyeleti Consulting, an organisation which has grown from two engineers and a secretary to over 120 staff with offices in Pretoria, Alberton, Polokwane, Durban and Mozambique.

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